


Of All The Things I Thought I Knew

by Crowlows19



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Batfamily, Batfamily Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-23 11:21:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20007469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crowlows19/pseuds/Crowlows19
Summary: Bruce and Dick have a very candid conversation about what makes Tim Drake so different and so special.





	Of All The Things I Thought I Knew

Dick Grayson had been playing the big brother card for long enough that by the time Damian came along, the Robin to his Batman, he was able to maneuver the kid well enough. He wasn’t a father though and when Bruce came back it was a relief to play the usual role again. 

All of his brothers were different and he was something different to each of them, just as Bruce was something different to each kid. None of them had the exact same relationship with Bruce as another brother did and Dick sometimes had to marvel at the sheer amount of change they had gone through in the last ten years. Four Robins, four brothers, and four very distinct kinds of Batman. 

But they could all relate to each other on the important things and that was what bonded them. 

“Tim was always different though,” Bruce told him privately one night. Dick had brought up his inner musing about the changes their lives had taken as well as all the similarities between the Robins. Bruce hadn’t agreed; at least, not entirely. For some reason, he had singled out Tim almost immediately. “He was always a different kind of Robin.”

“What do you mean?” Dick asked. They were sitting in the study, post mission, the house quiet and sleepy. Damian was asleep, nursing some shallow wounds. Alfred was off doing whatever it was he did. Tim and Jason weren’t even in Gotham; they were off working their own ops elsewhere. 

“Well, you were an orphan like me,” Bruce started, swirling his whiskey. Dick could count on one hand the amount of times he had personally witnessed Bruce Wayne have a real, honest to god drink. He was normally swishing around small mouthfuls of champagne to get the smell of alcohol on him and then strategically throwing it away. But their conversation had turned deeply personal about half an hour ago and Bruce had been holding that glass ever since. He was sipping so slowly though, Dick doubted he would ever feel the effect. 

“Jason was, well, Jason,” Bruce continued and Dick rolled his eyes. 

“Angry, you mean,” he said. 

“Yes, but it was more than that,” Bruce replied. “Jason was traumatized from the very beginning. His was a childhood nobody in this house could ever relate to. Even though he was technically an orphan, it wasn’t as if his time with his parents was ever that good to begin with.”

“And you know more about Damian than I do,” Bruce finally finished, taking a drink. 

“So what made Timmy so different?” Dick asked when Bruce paused for so long that he wasn’t sure if the other man planned on continuing his thought. 

“Tim didn’t come here an orphan or a street rat or a broken child,” Bruce said. “He came because he wanted to; because it was something he thought was the right thing to do.”

Dick remembered the first time he’d met Tim Drake. The twelve year old boy had tracked him down after Jason’s death and begged him to come home to Gotham. To finally bury the hatchet with Bruce and help Batman dig himself out of his pit of despair. It had only kind of worked. Bruce and Dick had started to talk again but it had taken a couple of more years before they could work as a solid team again. 

By that time, Tim had been Robin and his parents were gone. 

“He’s also a lot sneakier than any of the rest of you,” Bruce said with a smirk. Dick thought that was curious. He knew Tim was the best of them at strategy, but sneaky?

“What do you mean by that?” He asked, genuinely curious. “After all, wasn’t it Jason who kept cigarettes hidden in his Skittles?” Bruce actually snorted with laughter. It had taken him years to even cross the threshold of Jason’s old room and he had only done so once it was made clear that Jason was alive. Bruce had hoped he could find something in there to bring the boy home. What he’d found instead were six bottles of half empty whiskey and a bag of Skittles with Jason’s cigarettes. 

Alfred had been downright beside himself that he hadn’t found them before then. 

“Jason was rebellious, I’ll give you that,” Bruce conceded. “But he wasn’t a lair and a sneak. Not like Tim.”

“That seems harsh,” Dick said, automatically defensive of Tim. He had never known Bruce to say something that harsh about any of them. In fact, he had always seemed perfectly pleased with Tim. 

“Did you ever hear about Tim’s Uncle?” Bruce asked. “The one he lived with after this Dad died?”

“Uncle Eddie?” Dick clarified. “I met him a couple of times when I went to pick Tim up for lunch. What ever happened to him?”

“He doesn’t exist.”

“What?” Dick exclaimed, nearly laughing. “Of course he does! I met him!”

“He was an actor that Tim paid to play the part,” Bruce said and looked thoroughly amused at Dick’s shocked face. He then proceeded to tell Dick the story of how Tim had built an entire fake uncle and claimed custody of himself. “Eight months he lived with that fake before I figured it out. He lied to my face for eight months and the only reason I found out was because of a tiny clerical error Tim made.”

Dick raised an eyebrow at his adoptive father. 

“You sound proud,” Dick accused. 

“It was really good work,” Bruce replied defensively. “Possibly better than anything I could have done.”

“Why would he invent a fake Uncle instead of just living here?” Dick asked.

“So that nobody could tell him what to do,” Bruce replied, making it sound as if it was the most obvious thing ever. “Like I said, Tim’s always been different. The rest of you were much easier to deal with. Even when you took the car without permission, you at least brought it back. Tim stole one and took it across the country, let Kid Flash drive it, and crashed it.”

“Oh my god! I remember that!” Dick laughed. "Wally called me hysterical because Superboy told Kid Flash that you were going to send Flash the bill. It took me an hour to convince him he wasn't going to be invoiced for a million dollar car."

“I should have sent one anyway," Bruce replied and Dick smirked. "I did that to Clark when his cousin broke the computer in the cave."

"What did he do?" Dick asked, thoroughly curious. It was rare to hear stories like this but he loved it every time it happened. 

"Sent me a wad of Monopoly money," Bruce replied. "I think I still have it somewhere." Dick actually threw his head back and laughed. Not many people gave Clark the credit for it, but the man was equally as snarky as Bruce was. He was just far more polite about it. 

“Does it ever bother you?” Dick asked once he’d caught his breath. “That Tim is so sneaky?”

“Not really,” Bruce replied. “But sometimes I wish he could be more honest with me. None of you, not even Damian, ever really kept your feelings hidden from me. Sometimes it took a while to get you guys to admit to them or to tell me why you were feeling that way, but the problems themselves were always visible. With Tim, it’s a process just to know if something is wrong in the first place.”

“Sometimes he calls me,” Dick admitted. “When he’s depressed.”

“I know,” Bruce told him and Dick wasn’t surprised in the slightest that this was the case. “He told me once about the phone calls. I think they help.” 

“Good,” Dick replied. “I’ll miss that kid if anything ever happens to him.”

Dick would never ask Bruce if he had a favorite kid. Most people would say it was either Dick or Damian, but Dick would bet money that it was Tim. Bruce would never admit to such a thing, even to himself, but Dick knew. Tim was Bruce’s favorite because Tim could challenge him a way that none of the rest of them could. He was a mystery to Bruce even after all these years and everything they’d been through. He doubted that Tim would ever fully be solved by Bruce and that was what made their relationship so special. 

Whether that was normal or not was anyone’s guess. 

But despite everything, all the stolen cars, hidden cases, and fake uncles, Tim was the one that Bruce could always count on to be interesting. 

Dick wondered what crazy thing he would roll into the cave with next. Whatever it was, Bruce was sure to fascinated by it.


End file.
